Avengers Arena #9 Review

Avengers Arena is better than a teenage superhero deathmatch comic has any right to be, yet the way it earns its thrills is the guiltiest of pleasures. Although, with issues like this one, the excitement of "who dies next?" is replaced with an anxiety about how much thought Dennis Hopeless put into offing the latest contestant. After all, we already suspected the character died once before, so why do an awesome fake out once, only to give him a weaker death scene not long after? Has Hopeless learned nothing from the Matrix trilogy?

Artist Kev Walker is back to his usual high caliber artwork, and his visuals are given great dramatic weight by colorist Jean-Francois Beaulieu. The nighttime brawl is illuminated by orange laser blasts and a bright blue E.M.P. that make it a truly magnificent spectacle to behold. Walker has done an excellent job with Tim’s appearance; you can almost see Katy lurking beneath his kindhearted features.

Watching the kids try and decide what to do with Tim is the biggest source of drama for the issue. A few of the characters gave interesting arguments, but at least one acted out of character, which was the start of some odd behavior. For instance, Katy killed Juston but left Nico alive. This seems in direct opposition to her crazy murderous ways. Although, maybe it’s a good thing she acted out of character for some soon-to-be-revealed reason, otherwise she’d have gone all Rambo on everyone and this series would be over.

Joshua writes for IGN. If the Powerpuff Girls are made of sugar, spice, and everything nice, then he is surely made of ketchup, pizza, and lightsaber replicas. Follow him on Twitter or IGN.

Okay

Awkward character behavior and a strange death weaken the appeal of Avengers Arena #9.